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Progress in Development Studies 11, 2 (2011) pp. 87–99

© 2011 SAGE Publications 10.1177/146499341001100201

Engaging with Islam to promote women’s rights: exploring opportunities and challenging assumptions

Nida Kirmani

Research Fellow, University of Birmingham and Islamic Relief

Isabel Phillips

Research Offi cer, Islamic Relief

Abstract: Although the promotion of women’s rights is often seen as a ‘secular enterprise’, efforts to incorporate religion within gender-related advocacy are growing. Muslim faith-based organisations (FBOs) are also being encouraged to engage in gender-related projects because of their supposed ‘comparative advantage’ in Muslim communities. This article critically analyses the efforts made by development agencies and women’s organisations to promote women’s rights within an Islamic framework or with the involvement of religious leaders. It then explores the possibilities and dangers of such approaches with a particular reference to Muslim FBOs.

Key words: Islam, gender, women’s rights, FBOs, religion, Muslim communities

I Introduction The promotion of women’s rights has long been viewed as a ‘secular enterprise’ not only by Western development agencies but also by women’s organisations and activists based in the Global South. This has been partially due to the perception that all religions are inherently patriarchal and opposed to women’s rights, with Islam viewed as the prime example. As well, feminism in many parts of the world has developed as a reaction to traditional structures and sources of authority, including those related to religion. This has contributed

to a perceived antagonism between religion and feminism. However, this view is slowly changing as development agencies and women’s rights activists become more aware of the importance of taking religion into consideration as part of development interventions. This has led to limited efforts to engage with religious discourses and actors as means of promoting women’s rights in a manner that is ‘culturally sensitive’. Furthermore, the growth of ‘Islamic feminism’ in various parts of the world has provided new opportunities to advocate for women’s rights through the use of religious concepts and texts.

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Despite the recent efforts to reconcile religion and women’s rights, little effort has been made to critically analyse such ap- proaches. At the same time, there is an in- creasing push amongst some funding agencies to promote Islamic approaches to women’s rights and to partner with particular Muslim faith-based organisations (FBOs), which are assumed to have a comparative advantage over secular non-governmental organisations (NGOs) because of their supposed ‘cultural proximity’ within Muslim communities (see Benthall, 2008; De Cordier, 2009). Hence, the need for critical refl ection is urgent. This article analyses some of the efforts made by develop- ment agencies and women’s organisations to promote women’s rights within an Islamic framework or with the involvement of religious leaders based largely on a survey of secondary sources as well as primary research conducted amongst women’s organisations in India and with the United Kingdom (UK)-based char- ity, Islamic Relief, with a view to analysing whether international Muslim FBOs should be encouraged to adopt such approaches as part of their strategies. It begins by contextualising the emergence of Islamic approaches within a wider discussion of the relationships between both development and religion and feminism and Islam. It then provides an overview of the ways in which Islam has been used strategically in women’s rights advocacy, as well as the types of issues that have been addressed. The fi nal section of the article aims to look critically at the possible advantages and disadvantages of deliberately engaging with Islam as part of advocacy strategies, especially in relation to international Muslim FBOs, using Islamic Relief as an example.

II Development, Islam and women’s rights The promotion of women’s rights can be viewed within wider context of ‘development’ – a term which, although highly contested, can broadly be defi ned as the betterment of society as a whole. Development in its various

forms has long been viewed as a ‘secular project’, with neo-liberal approaches focused on the achievement of economic growth; socialist approaches focused on the equitable distribution of wealth; and later models focus- ing more on ‘human development’, that is, the development of capabilities and overall well-being rather than simply the growth of income (see Sen, 1999). Development has also been seen as part of larger processes of ‘modernisation’ and ‘secularisation’ in which societies are supposedly moving further away from religion and other traditional structures of authority towards a more economically advanced and secular system (see Marshall, 2001; Rakodi, 2007). In all of these approaches to understanding ‘development’, the role of religion has largely been neglected both at the theoretical and practical levels (see Selinger, 2004; Ver Beek, 2002).

However, the last ten years have wit- nessed an increasing appreciation of the role of religion within processes of development. There are several reasons for this. First, the proposition of secularisation theories that the importance of religion would gradually decline has not been proven, and many would argue that there has been a global resurgence of religion over the past two decades (see Haynes, 1995). Furthermore, there has been a growing awareness amongst development theorists and practitioners alike of the import- ance of considering non-economic factors when approaching development, including culture and religion. Hence, analysts of gen- der and development as well as donors are becoming increasingly interested in under- standing the ways in which religion in its various manifestations – in the form of beliefs and practices as well as in terms of social organisation and processes of identifi cation – contributes to or detracts from the achievement of development-related goals, including the realisation of gender equality and women’s rights (see Greany, 2006; Tomalin, 2007).

The promotion of gender and development agendas is also tied to global and national

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women’s movements and various manifest- ations of ‘feminism’,1 which have generally been viewed as being hostile towards religion by both feminists and non-feminists. This is due to the fact that women’s movements have often questioned religious traditions, beliefs and institutions as part of their struggles for gender equality. Women’s movements frequently challenge religious precepts and traditional structures of authority that they see as undermining gender equality and thus face opposition by religious groups. Hence, most secular women’s movements have had an antagonistic, or at least a tense, relationship with religious discourses and actors, and have viewed religion as a cause of oppression rather than a source of liberation (see Phillips, 2009; Winter, 2001).

At the same time, many feminists and members of women’s movements have peri- odically allied with religious groups or utilised religious discourses in order to promote gender equality, either as a proactive or a reactive strategy. Since the 1980s, there has been a general growth in religious feminisms – or projects that aim to reclaim and reinterpret religion from women’s perspectives or in a manner that respects women’s rights – across the faith traditions. This has been the case amongst members of various religious groups who have argued for reforms from within their respective faith traditions and who have developed nuanced readings of texts and practices (see Donaldson and Pui-Lan, 2002; Sharma and Young, 1999). Furthermore, processes of globalisation, and especially the United Nations (UN)-organised conferences in Beijing, Cairo and Vienna, which have laid the foundation for international gender and development agendas, have facilitated both confl ict as well as constructive dialogue amongst religious and non-religious feminists dealing with similar types of constraints across faith traditions (Bayes and Tohidi, 2001). Reformist feminist traditions have made great strides in reconcil- ing feminism with faith in a variety of ways and are challenging long-held assumptions

about the relationship between the struggle for gender equality and religion within conser- vative and orthodox circles as well as amongst secular feminists.

In the case of Islam, there has been a growth in religiously-grounded feminist approaches in various contexts since the 1980s, which can be seen partially as a response to the growth of conservative Islamist movements around the world. Badran (2009) argues that religion has always been an intrinsic aspect of the feminisms constructed by Muslim women, whether they claim to be ‘secular’ or ‘religious’ feminists. Although efforts to highlight women’s rights within Islam have taken place since the early 20th century (see Mojab, 2001), these efforts have grown signifi cantly since the 1980s, with the work of scholars such as Al-Hibri (1982), Ahmed (1992), El Saadawi (1980) and Mernissi (1991) tracing the historical effects of male interpretation and patriarchal rule on Islamic practices. Moghadam (2004) uses ‘Islamic feminism’ to describe the efforts of women operating in Muslim contexts to ‘reclaim their religion to undermine both Islamist2 patriarchal dis- tortions and Western stereotypes of Islam as backwards and terroristic’ (ibid.: 53). She distinguishes between ‘Islamic feminists’, who base their feminism explicitly on Islam, and ‘Muslim feminists’, who she defi nes as ‘believing women’ who are critical of Islamist politics and who use a mixture of religious terminology and the secular language of inter- national human rights in calling for reform (ibid.; see also Karam, 1997). Individuals such as Riffat Hassan (2002), Amina Wadud (2007) and Aziza Al-Hibri (2004), who would all fall under the category of ‘Islamic feminists’, argue that Islam is not the cause of women’s oppression, but that ‘culture’ and ‘patriarchy’ are the real culprits and that women must reclaim religion from men in order to uncover the truly egalitarian underpinnings of Islam. ‘Muslim feminists’, on the other hand, include a spectrum of feminists from those who are avowedly secular in their approach to those

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that combine religious and secular approaches depending on the context and the issue at hand (see Kandiyoti, 1991a; Moghissi, 2005).

The growing awareness of the importance of religion as a factor within processes of development, combined with an increasing drive to reconcile Islam and feminism, has led to a heightening of donor interest in ‘women and religion’, which has disproportionately focused on Muslim women, especially in the post-9/11 period, with Muslim women being viewed as particularly oppressed and in need of ‘salvation’ (see Abu-Lughod, 2002). This interest has led some donors to promote the adoption of religiously-grounded approaches, which has included encouraging selected international Muslim FBOs,3 such as Islamic Relief, to utilise their supposed advantage in Muslim communities to work on gender- related programmes. Many women’s rights advocates also argue that religion must play an intrinsic role in gender-related advocacy strategies if they are to be acceptable and successful, especially in the context of Muslim communities (see Adamu, 1999), and that Muslim FBOs have the potential to work effectively on sensitive issues in Muslim com- munities because of their supposed ‘cultural proximity’ (De Cordier, forthcoming). Before looking more closely at the arguments for and against using ‘Islamic approaches’, this article broadly outlines some of the areas in which Islamically-informed women’s rights advocacy has taken place and the methods utilised, in particular by development agencies and women’s organisations, in various Muslim contexts, with the understanding that any in-depth analysis of these examples must also consider the particular power dynamics of each local context.

III Using Islam to promote women’s rights Since the 1990s, several organisations have experimented with religiously-based ap- proaches to gender-related advocacy, ranging from UN agencies such as the United Nations

Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) (see UNFPA, 2008) to national and local NGOs and community organisations. Methods of ap- proaching women’s rights advocacy in Muslim communities generally fall into two overlapping categories: the involvement of religious leaders as advocates and partners in the promotion of women’s rights; and the promotion amongst women themselves of gender-sensitive an- alyses and interpretations of Islamic texts and concepts. These methods have been used largely in the areas of reproductive health and in relation to family laws, as these are the areas in which Islam is most often invoked in order to curb women’s rights.

The involvement of religious leaders in the promotion of women’s rights stems from the belief that religious leaders are respected members of their communities whose perspectives will be trusted and whose directives will be followed. A statement sub- mitted by the UNFPA to the UN Commission on the Status of Women argues that religious leaders are most often key power holders within communities and can be important allies in the achievement of gender-related development objectives:

Religious leaders are capable of mobiliz- ing and empowering communities to demand attention and seek solutions from government and other decision makers on issues ranging from gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS, maternal deaths to family planning. Working closely with these spiritual leaders, to fi nd common ground can be achieved through dialogue, networking, advocacy on gender issues, and provision of reproductive health services. (Touré, 2007: 5)

The inclusion of religious leaders is seen as being particularly important in relation to sensitive gender-related issues where the involvement of perceived outsiders can be met with fear and suspicion. Religious leaders are viewed as key ‘gatekeepers’ whose support can help dispel fears and lend credibility to projects.

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Religious-based approaches to women’s rights advocacy tend to separate religion from ‘culture’ by engaging in textual excavation in order to uncover the ‘Islamic perspective’ on a particular issue, which is in line with the approach taken by Islamic feminists. Religious leaders often play a role in this and are brought together by development actors in order to discuss what Islamic teachings and texts have to say about a particular issue and to agree on a unifi ed stance. These meetings can take different forms and the level of direct involvement of the religious leaders and the organisations can vary. For example, discussions may be led by the religious leaders themselves or directed by the organisations involved, often depending on the proximity of the leaders and their constituents and the complexity of the issue at hand. In educating religious leaders and encouraging them to en- gage in gender-sensitive readings of texts, it is hoped that they will fi lter this knowledge back to the communities in which they are work- ing by actively engaging in advocacy or by at least facilitating the efforts of organisations advocating for gender justice.

For example, a United States Agency for International Development (USAID)- sponsored programme in northern Kenya ini- tiated a dialogue with religious leaders on how to use Islamic teachings to promote better reproductive health and family planning. After initial consultations with religious leaders, it emerged that terms such as ‘child spacing’ and ‘safe motherhood’ were preferable to ‘family planning’ since these are terms that are mentioned in Islamic literature and are widely understood and accepted by religious leaders and members of the community. Knowledge acquired in the training was disseminated in the mosque and during public lectures (Extending Service Delivery Project, 2008). Another programme, implemented in the Mindanao region of the Philippines by a variety of organizations, including the UNFPA,4 worked with Muslim religious leaders to

tackle early, arranged and forced marriage and violence against women. After extensive consultations with community groups and religious leaders, a series of khutbas (sermons) on gender and reproductive health rights were compiled in a handbook, which was intended to be used in training sessions for imams (Alamia, 2009).

Rather than using a top-down approach by appealing to ‘gatekeepers’, other Islamic feminist approaches have focused on en- couraging women to themselves engage in gender-sensitive analysis and interpretation of Islamic texts and teachings. The guiding principle behind such approaches is that Islam has been (mis)interpreted in a manner that refl ects the patriarchal nature of society at the time it was revealed and therefore, rather than relying on historical interpretations, religious injunctions related to gender relations should evolve over time. Advocates of this approach tend to stress the supremacy of the Qur’an over all other sources and argue that the hadith (sayings and traditions of the Prophet) and sharia (Islamic jurisprudence) refl ect human (and largely male) interpretations. They therefore encourage studying the Qur’an and understanding the context in which it was revealed (Hashim, 1999; Mirza, 2008).5 Such approaches aim to counter the accusations of critics who feel that gender-related advocacy is an attempt to undermine religious precepts and practices by proving that the values of justice and equality are enshrined in the Qur’an itself.

Most of programmes promoting gender- sensitive analysis of religious texts have been led by women activists, and have also tended to focus on women, although some have also included men. Programmes employing this method commonly rely on workshops and seminars in which participants are asked to study particular religious texts, bearing in mind the historical context in which they were written. One of the pioneers of this strategy has been the Malaysian-based group, Sisters

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in Islam, which has inspired similar types of activities elsewhere in the world. Most of their work has centred on facilitating dis- cussion and lobbying the government as well as media-based advocacy. Tackling issues such as Muslim family law, polygamy and domestic violence, their arguments are based on a com- bination of progressive interpretations of the Qur’an and the promotion of international human rights conventions (Othman, 2006).

Along the same lines as textual approaches, some women’s organisations have used Islamic concepts in order to promote gender justice. Again, this approach encourages women to work though a religious framework in order to avoid accusations of being externally driven and in order to gain wider acceptance. For example, in India, where Muslims constitute the largest religious minority, a number of women’s groups have been promoting the Islamic concept of the nikahnama, which is a Muslim marriage contract, as a means of protecting women’s rights. As a way of sub- verting Muslim personal laws, which many feel do not adequately protect women’s rights, women’s groups have been encouraging women to negotiate a nikahnama (marriage contract) in which they outline their rights, including rights to property and divorce, which is an acceptable practice in Islam. They have tried to popularise the idea through grassroots education and advocacy and have tried to publicise marriages that have taken place using such contracts (Kirmani, 2009). For women’s rights activists in India, such a strategy has been considered appropriate given a context in which Muslims are a ‘threatened minority’ and religious sensitivities are high.

Similarly, the Al Faruq Welfare Society, which works in Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, uses the Qur’anic principle of himaya, or protection of the woman, as the basis for arguing against gender-based violence. The programme’s social workers also use religious concepts such as rahma (compassion), tasamuh (forgiveness and tolerance) and sabr (patience)

to counter the practice of verbal and physical abuse (Harmsen, 2007).

Resistance to change is often strongest in matters related to reproductive health and sexuality, which are seen as the most intimate aspects of social life (see Moghadam, 2004). Furthermore, religious arguments are often used to justify the regulation and control of women’s sexuality and are often invoked in support of practices such as female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and early marriage, and hence any attempt to alter such practices is often met with religiously grounded opposition. It is for these reasons that Islamic approaches to women’s rights have been most commonly utilised in the fi eld of reproductive rights as a means of countering religious opposition and in the hopes of gaining wider acceptance.

One programme that addressed the issue of reproductive rights was the Fankanta project in Senegal, which was implemented by a German–Senegalese cooperative. Given the strong association between Islam and FGM/C in some parts of the world, programme leaders decided that establishing the Islamic position on FGM/C was a key priority, and that the best way to do this would be to work with local religious leaders. Although initially reluctant to challenge tradition, religious leaders vowed to advocate against the practice once they learned about the adverse health effects for women and girls. Following the meetings, imams gave sermons in the mosque reiterating that Islam did not call for FGM/C (GTZ, n. d.). Similar programmes have been initiated in Africa and the Middle East by the UNFPA, which work with imams in order to address reproductive health issues such as FGM/C and family planning (UNFPA, 2004).

Women’s rights activists working in Muslim contexts have long been struggling to reform sharia-based laws. According to those working towards reform, the laws bestow an inferior status upon women and relegate them to a subordinate position in society by denying them opportunities and choices both inside

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and outside the family (Moghadam, 2002). However, sharia-based laws are also fi ercely protected in many contexts as symbols of Muslim identity (see Shaheed, 1994). In many countries, feminists have made great strides in advocating for changes in family and employment laws from within an Islamic framework. For example, in Iran, where the entire legal code is based on particular inter- pretations of Islam, feminists have drawn on religious notions of complementarity between the sexes as a means of improving women’s position in the labour market by arguing for paid maternity leave, shorter working hours and earlier retirement age, thus winning an offi cial recognition by the state of women’s double burden of having to perform paid work alongside unpaid domestic work (Afshar, 1997).

Apart from country-specifi c campaigning, advocacy around sharia-based family laws has also been accompanied by a great deal of international cooperation between activists facing similar challenges. For example, Musawah, which means ‘equality’ in Arabic, was established in 2007 by an international group of activists who had met in Malaysia with the initiative of members of Sisters in Islam. The organisation aims to connect women around the world and unite them in a bid to ensure a reform of family law so that women are treated fairly. Underpinning their campaign is advocacy for a new interpretation of parts of the Qur’an, which is believed to be crucial when challenging scholars and politicians (Basarudin, 2009).6

These examples suggest that the impli- cations of approaches that incorporate Islamic perspectives into gender-related strategies are overwhelmingly positive. However, it should be noted that much of the evidence collected for this review came from project reports and promotional material produced by the implementing organisations themselves for public consumption rather than primary fieldwork or external accounts. Given the nature of their work, and in particular their

reliance on external funding, development organisations are much more likely to present a positive picture of their projects than a negative one. Furthermore, organisations that have implemented successful projects are more likely to discuss their work publicly than those that have failed. With this in mind, the following section will not only analyse the positive experiences just discussed, but will also consider the possible dangers of and assumptions behind approaches to women’s rights advocacy that rely on religious discourses and actors, as well as the implications of encouraging Muslim FBOs to adopt such approaches.

IV Utilising opportunities and challenging assumptions There are several advantages to engaging positively with religion as part of women’s rights advocacy. On a strategic level, using Islamic approaches can be one way of deflecting accusations of taking a ‘Western’ or anti- Muslim approach. Gender-related advocacy is often met with resistance on religious grounds. In such situations, it is often necessary for women’s rights advocates to use Islamic arguments to counter criticisms (Adamu, 1999). Furthermore, in countries in which part or all of the legal system is based on par- ticular interpretations of sharia, women’s rights advocates have had little choice but to work within a religious framework, and many have done so in creative ways. As well, gaining the support of religious leaders and even using re- ligious leaders as educators on women’s rights issues can be an effective means of defl ecting religiously driven resistance at the local level and of winning over sceptics. The involvement of religious leaders can also expose those who use religion as a means of resisting change and in support of their own interests, in this case related to the maintenance of patriarchal gender relations, by demonstrating the Islamic basis for women’s rights.

Furthermore, for many women’s rights advocates who are also believers in Islam,

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such approaches offer a means of reconciling their faith with their commitment to women’s rights. Hence, taking an Islamic approach is not only a strategic or a defensive position, but one that springs from a genuine belief that Islam is an egalitarian and just religion. Those who fall into this category believe that knowledge of Islam is the best means of countering patriarchal misinterpretation (Hashim, 1999: 12). For such activists, human rights are an intrinsic part of Islam, and the main job of women’s rights advocates is to promote the principle of justice in support of women’s rights.

Using religious-based approaches can create spaces and opportunities for dialogue amongst those who may otherwise be left out of gender-related initiatives, including men in general and religious leaders in particular. Those working in the fi eld of gender and devel- opment have long argued that it is necessary to include men in any campaign to change gender relations (see Connell, 2005). Hence, working with religious leaders, who are by and large men and who often have access to large numbers of male community members, is a means of involving men in gender-related advocacy campaigns. Islamic approaches can help convince men, who may otherwise be sceptical, of the importance of protecting women’s rights and can help stimulate a wider dialogue about gender issues.

At the same time, there are several assump- tions that often underlie religiously-grounded approaches to women’s rights advocacy. In her analysis of donor interventions in Muslim communities, Balchin (2003) argues that the focus on women and religion falls into three broad categories: those that perceive religion as an obstacle to achieving development; those that see religion as the most signifi- cant development issue; and those that see ‘Islamic feminism’ as a development solution. She argues that much of the donor discourse falls into the Orientalist trap and blames Muslim men and ‘culture’, which is equated

with religion, for women’s oppression. This ignores women’s ongoing struggles as well as global inequalities and politics that determine local power dynamics. As well, donor approaches often equate ‘Islamic’ with ‘Muslim’, thus assuming that the prac- tices of all Muslims must be ‘Islamic’ and ignoring cultural variations as well as the myriad other factors apart from religion that determine the behaviours of those identifi ed as Muslim. Balchin’s analysis demonstrates the homogenising effects of such donor discourses, which look at ‘Muslim women’ as a group with common interests and either blame Islam for all development problems or see Islam as the only viable development solution in Muslim communities (ibid.).

Others have also been critical of the approach of Islamic feminists for various reasons. First, such approaches tend to pri- vilege religion, and that too, a particularly textual approach to religion, as a determinant of identity. This denies the complexity of pro- cesses of identity construction, which are determined not only by religion but also by various social, historical, cultural, political and economic factors (see Kandiyoti, 1991b). Mirza points out that by privileging textual approaches to Islam, ironically, Islamic feminists follow the same methodological lines as Islamists:

both are anchored in the central texts of the Quran and the hadith literature; both represent their own interpretation as the expression of authentic or ‘true’ Islam; and both discourses have appropriated the notion of the ideal past of Islam as the foundation of law. (Mirza, 2008: 31)

Hence, Islamic approaches to gender-related advocacy can inadvertently reinforce the notion that the lives of Muslim women must be governed solely by religious precepts and that women must understand the true message of Islam in order to claim their rights. This can limit the terms of the debate to a presentation of competing versions of Islam and can close the space for secular feminist critiques (Balchin, 2003; Kandiyoti, 1991b; Zia, 2009).

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Finally, approaches that focus on educating religious leaders or rely on them to communicate gender-related messages can legitimise their authority within the community rather than chal- lenging structures of power that keep women in inferior positions. While religious leaders may be infl uential members of the community, by highlighting their role and seeking their support, development actors may be reinforcing the power of local men rather than empowering women to claim their own rights. While it is true that, in some communities, religious leaders are important gatekeepers and must be included, in many others, their infl uence is limited. Women’s rights advocates should aim to create spaces for dialogue rather than reinforcing local hierarchies, which may hold women in subordinate positions.

As mentioned earlier, certain international Muslim FBOs are being encouraged by donors to engage more directly on sensitive issues such as those related to gender. However, as of yet, most such organisations have stayed away from advocacy and remained largely engaged in humanitarian relief efforts and in service delivery. Taking the example of Islamic Relief in particular, one of the reasons for this may be the fact that a signifi cant proportion of their funding comes from religious forms of giving such as zakat, which places certain restrictions on the types of activities for which the organisation can utilise these funds. As well, international Muslim FBOs are a relatively new phenomenon7 and are only now beginning to expand their scope of activities outside of traditional needs-based approaches to poverty alleviation. Hence, in general, these organisations tend to engage in activities that are seen as directly benefi ting the poor, such as providing humanitarian relief in emergency situations, rather than engaging in activities that do not yield immediate results such as advocacy.

However, as Islamic Relief increasingly receives funding from institutional donors, the scope of their activities is gradually expand- ing outside of relief and into longer-term

development projects. According to one of its project managers, Islamic Relief began taking institutional funding in 1997, with the percentage of institutional funding growing to about 30 per cent of the organisation’s current income (Interview, 10 November 2009). This has created the opportunity to engage in more diverse types of activities and in new areas. As part of a growing trend amongst institutional donors to work with FBOs, organisations such as the UK Department for International Development (DfID) have been encouraging Islamic Relief to expand their fi eld of engagement into areas such as gender and reproductive health. The push to work with FBOs has raised concerns amongst some feminists over the potential threats to women’s rights posed by such partnerships, as many FBOs, regardless of their religious orientation, promote a conservative agenda (see Pearson and Tomalin, 2008). At the same time, it has been suggested by some (Benthall, 2008; De Cordier, 2009) that Muslim FBOs such as Islamic Relief are best placed to work in Muslim communities because of their sup- posed ‘cultural proximity’.

However, there are several reasons why it may be particularly diffi cult for international Muslim FBOs to implement Islamic approaches. First, such organisations may be hesitant in adopting religious-based approaches because of the fear of being perceived as proselytising. Islamic Relief, like many international Christian FBOs, maintains a policy of non-proselytisation in the communities in which they work. Hence, they will not engage in activities that are seen to be promoting Islam, for example, building mosques or promoting religious education.8 This position has largely been adopted as a pre-emptive measure to defl ect any criticism or suspicions of the organisation, especially in the post-9/11 context in which Muslim organisations have come under increasing scrutiny (see Benthall, 2007). Islamic Relief is also careful to maintain its professional image as a non-partial humanitarian organisation.

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For this reason, ironically, it may be more difficult for Islamic Relief to adopt Islamic approaches to gender-related advocacy than it would be for a ‘secular’ NGO because this might be construed as promoting Islam.

Furthermore, Islamic Relief, like most large organisations, is ideologically and culturally diverse. Not all of its employees are Muslim, and even those who are identifi ed as such may not agree on all issues pertaining to Islam. Also, Islam itself contains various sects and schools of thought ranging from those that are extremely conservative regarding gender- related issues to those that are relatively progressive, and there is no clear hierarchy within Islam in terms of authority on religious matters. Hence, gaining a consensus about any single issue is diffi cult, especially with regards to contentious matters such as those related to gender.9 In fact, incorporating religion into advocacy strategies may be easier in ‘secular’ or non-religiously affiliated organisations where religious sensitivities may not be as high. Furthermore, most international development organisations, whether secular or faith-based, have staff working in very different contexts all over the world and reaching consensus on an acceptable organisational strategy may be diffi cult bearing in mind the differing expect- ations of benefi ciaries and donors.

Finally, the very premise that Muslim FBOs have a privileged access to Muslim communities that would give them an advantage in dealing with sensitive issues such as those related to gender is itself fl awed. Studies of Muslim FBOs have asserted that in some instances, these organisations may have an advantage in Muslim communities that may otherwise be suspicious of external intervention (see Benthall, 2008; De Cordier, 2009; Kirmani and Khan, 2008). However, such an argument not only lacks empirical evidence, it reinforces the notion popularised by Islamists and pro- ponents of the ‘clash of civilisations’ thesis (Huntington, 1997) that there is a unified Muslim community and denies the complex- ity and contextuality of identities. This is

further complicated by the fact that, as mentioned earlier, Muslim FBOs and the communities in which they work are religiously and ideologically diverse. Hence, there is no reason to assume that an employee of a Muslim FBO (whether Muslim or non-Muslim) would be able to relate to a Muslim benefi ciary any better than someone working for ‘secular’ NGO, or that they would be less able to relate to a non-Muslim benefi ciary. As well, although being labelled a ‘Muslim’ organisation may help pave the way in some Muslim communities, and especially in contexts where there is a heightened defensiveness about NGOs that are perceived as being ‘Western’, it can also create complications and spark suspicion and mistrust in certain situations, such as those that have experienced religious-based confl ict (Kirmani and Khan, 2008).

V Conclusion The increasing efforts to engage with religion as part of development efforts, especially with regards to the promotion of women’s rights, marks a signifi cant shift in development dis- course and practice, which has historically been viewed as a secular undertaking. However, feminists working in Muslim communities have always had to take religious perspectives into account in their campaigning efforts, whether they have engaged with religion positively, negatively or defensively. Therefore, while the approaches that have been discussed here may be relatively new and underexplored within the fi eld of ‘development’, much can be learned from the insights of feminists, both secular and religious, who have long been grappling with such issues in Muslim contexts. While no one working on gender-related issues can afford to ignore religion in any context, an analysis of approaches to gender-related advocacy that utilise Islam demonstrates the complexity of this engagement, including the advantages and possible pitfalls of adopting an explicitly Islamic approach. Furthermore, as much of the available literature about religious-based strategies is promotional rather

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than critical, there is a need for more research into the outcomes of approaches that utilise religious discourses and/or actors or that are channelled through FBOs.

While there can be no singular strategy for the achievement of gender equality, those advocating for women’s rights must contextual- ise their approaches within the particularities of local power relations, which will include but not be limited to a consideration of religion. If religion is used as a means of justifying harm- ful practices or unequal relationships, then women’s rights advocates can certainly not afford to ignore it. However, rather than pre- scribing any religious-based solutions, women’s rights advocates should aim to create a space for dialogue about these issues. Focusing on religion exclusively or as the primary means of advocating for women’s rights denies the complexity of identities and social relations as well as closing the space for non-religious or secular approaches. Also, it cannot be assumed that international Muslim FBOs have an advantage in approaching sensitive issues in Muslim contexts, as the relationship between any organisation and the community in which it is working will depend on a multitude of factors, including where the organisation is perceived to be coming from geographically, politically and ideologically along with the pro- fessionalism and sensitivity of its staff. The challenge for women’s rights advocates is adopting an approach that takes their own position into consideration and recognises the complexity of factors that determine gender- related constraints without privileging any singular identity or set of actors.

Notes 1. With the understanding that ‘feminism’ is a complex

and contested term, which many women’s rights advocates choose not to use for various political reasons, for the purposes of this article, ‘feminism’ is broadly defi ned as the belief that women and men are equal in worth.

2. ‘Islamist’ is used broadly to refer to conservative, orthodox versions of Islam, which see it not only as a religion but as a political system – what some brand as ‘fundamentalist’ or ‘militant’ strands of Islam.

3. The term FBO or ‘faith-based organisation’ masks a great deal of complexity and includes a range of organisations. The authors use this term with caution, recognising that the lines between ‘faith-based’ and ‘secular’ organisations are often blurry (see Berger, 2003), and that many Muslim FBOs, including Islamic Relief, are based in Western contexts and are well integrated in global funding networks, employing similar language, procedures and strategies as their secular counterparts. International Muslim FBOs are in many ways more similar to other international NGOs, than they are to local charities and welfare organisations operating in Muslim contexts, many of which are affi liated with religious political parties and promote particular religious and political ideologues. This article does not address the activities of these organisations and concentrates rather on the strategies of international donors, NGOs and FBOs operating in Muslim contexts.

4. Other organisations included the Tarbilang Founda- tion, Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID), the Assembly of the Darul Ifta of the Philippines and Nisa Ul Haqq Fi Bangsamoro.

5. Some feminists further argue that there is a distinction between those verses that were revealed in Mecca and those that were revealed in Medina. They assert that verses revealed to the Prophet in Mecca contain eternal truths, and are therefore universally applicable, while Medinan verses were specifi c to the time in which they were revealed (see Mirza, 2008).

6. Women Living under Muslim Laws, an international network which does not advocate for a particular approach, has been working since 1984 to provide women’s rights activists with information, particularly on family laws, as well as creating a dialogue in order to share strategies and experiences.

7. Of the UK-based Muslim FBOs, Islamic Relief is one of the oldest and was founded in 1984. This was followed closely by Muslim Aid, which was founded in 1985. Muslim Hands was founded more recently in 1993.

8. However, Islamic Relief does engage in limited activities that have religious overtones, such as providing food packages during Ramadan and distributing meat from religious sacrifi ces.

9. For example, the authors of this article have been engaged in formulating a gender policy for the organisation based on a mixture of international norms and Islamic principles. However, no policy has been agreed upon to date partially because of the diffi culty in gaining a broad consensus across the ideological spectrum represented within the organisation. Any attempt to consciously adopt Islamic approaches to gender-related advocacy would presumably come up against the same kinds of roadblocks.

98 Engaging with Islam to promote women’s rights

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